Milan’s Brera boosts its cultural cachet with an overdue modern art wing and Leonardo’s Last Supper

Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera museum, conceived under Napoleon as a “little Louvre,” is finally getting a modern art addition first envisioned more than 50 years ago with the opening Sunday of Palazzo Citterio. Completing the project long beset by shifting priorities, neglect and an ill-fated architectural vision was a priority for Brera director Ange lo Crespi when he took over in January. He gave himself a matter of months to resolve structural issues and oversee the installation of hundreds of works of art, telling The Associated Press: “After 52 years, we couldn’t keep such a beautiful building closed simply because of inertia.” The Grande Brera has also incorporated Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” arguably Italy’s most famous masterpiece.